Housing is Healthcare
R
oy Donberg shivered as he zipped up his tent, laid down on the cold tarp and listened to crickets chirping outside. He had been homeless for 18 years and had recently suffered two heart attacks and a stroke. He stared up at the night sky through a hole in the cloth ceiling, wondering whether he’d ever be able to afford medical care or if there was any hope. An estimated 2,053 individuals were identified as homeless in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties during a 2018 “Point-in-Time” count organized by the Homeless Services Network and staffed with hundreds of community volunteers. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires communities across America to conduct an annual count on a single night to assess the reality of the local homeless population. The count includes those who are chronically homeless, meaning they are suffering from physical or mental disabilities while being homeless for one or more years. Without connections to proper healthcare or a stable address to receive federal benefits or consistent care, they filter in and out of emergency rooms at public expense. To address this, the Central Florida region shifted to a new model of care called Housing First. When Kristy Lukaszewski, policy and programs director at the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness, was asked how the Housing First initiative works to break the cycle of homelessness, she replied simply: “Homes end homelessness.”
Ron Donberg
HOW THE CENTRAL FLORIDA COMMISSION ON HOMELESSNESS ADVOCATES LOWER COSTS FOR TAXPAYERS BY THE NUMBERS
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Formerly homeless people in Housing First initiative 42 | MARCH 2019 | i4Biz.com
60%
Decrease in emergency room visits by Housing First participants
$13,000
Money saved per person on medical care, reduced from $31,000 to $18,000
98% Those who have remained housed
